Video poker gaming device and method

ABSTRACT

A video poker gaming apparatus and method of playing a game in which a player is allowed to place a first wager and a portion of a first card hand is displayed to the player. The player can choose to play the first card hand or to place a second wager to play an additional second card hand. The second card hand is dealt identical to the first card hand. If the player chooses to place the second wager and play the second card hand, all of the first card hand and all of the second card hand are displayed to the player. The player selects cards to keep or discard from each of the first and second card hands. Replacement cards are dealt for each of the cards that were discarded. An award is paid for the card hands according to a pay table.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED AND CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/862,030, filed Oct. 18, 2006. The contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to gaming devices and, more particularly, to a video poker gaming device that allows a game player to play multiple card hands.

BACKGROUND

Gaming devices are well known in the art and a large variety of gaming devices have been developed. In general, gaming devices allow users or players to play a game. In many casino-type gaming devices, the outcome of the game depends, at least in part, on a randomly generated event. For example, a gaming device may use a random number generator to generate a random or pseudo-random number (hereinafter, both types are referred to as a “random number”).

The random number can be used to determine a game outcome. For example, the random number may then be compared to a predefined table to determine a corresponding outcome of the event. If the random number falls within a certain range of numbers on the table, the player may win the corresponding predefined prize. The table may also contain display information that allows the gaming device to generate a display that corresponds to the outcome of the game. The gaming device may present the outcome of the game on a large variety of display devices, such as mechanical spinning reels or video screens.

Some gaming devices award bonus prizes in addition to prizes that are awarded in a primary game. Of course, the prize in the primary game may simply be the opportunity to play the bonus game. A bonus prize is generally defined as a prize in addition to tile prize obtained from the primary game and that is awarded to the player when a predefined event occurs. An example of a bonus game can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,932 to Adams. Adams discloses a primary game having three spinning game reels and a bonus game having a bonus display with one spinning wheel. The spinning wheel is divided into multiple sections, and each section has a symbol representing a prize. When predetermined indicia are displayed on the spinning game reels of the primary game, the wheel of the bonus display spins and stops. The bonus prize is displayed as the symbol on the wheel being pointed to by a pointer. The bonus prize is awarded in addition to any prizes awarded in the primary Same. Another bonus game is disclosed in Baerlocher et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,863). Baerlocher et al. discloses a slot machine with a bonus award display. The bonus award display has a bonus wheel and a mechanical, movable pointer.

Gaming devices in casinos are more successful when they are able to captivate and hold a game player's interest for a long period of time. When a game player plays a gaming device for a longer period of time, more revenue is generated for the casino. A game player may lose interest with a game that has a static display that changes very little over time or that the player deems to be unattractive.

Many different individual game players or patrons visit casinos. Each player that visits a casino is a unique individual and has unique interests and tastes. A game or game feature that may be interesting to one player is not necessarily interesting to another player.

Many types of card games are well known, both in physical form and electronic form. Video poker gaming machines are commonly found in operation in casinos and are popular with game players. Video draw poker games typically deal five cards and allow the player to attempt to improve the initial hand or achieve a winning poker card hand by selecting cards to keep and cards to discard. New cards are drawn from a virtual deck of cards. A pay table indicates the award that is associated or paid with each possible poker hand ranking.

Various attempts have been made to improve upon the five card draw poker game. U.S. patent publication number 2002/0043765 to Moody discloses a video poker game that allows a player to play multiple hands. The number of hands to play is selected by the player at the beginning of the game.

U.S. patent publication number 2004/0219970 to Tarantino discloses a video poker game that allows a player to use cards from a first hand to form a second hand.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,747 to Moody discloses a video poker game that allows a player to play multiple hands of draw poker and stud poker. The number of hands to play is selected by the player at the beginning of the game.

SUMMARY Advantages

The various embodiments of the present invention may, but do not necessarily, achieve one or more of the following advantages:

provide a highly attractive and entertaining device for conducting games;

provide a highly attractive and entertaining device for displaying prizes;

the ability to attract more patrons to play a game;

the ability to encourage players to play longer on a gaming apparatus;

provide a video poker gaming device that allows a game player the option of playing additional poker card hands after viewing at least a portion of the first poker card hand;

allow a game player to select the number of poker card hands to play;

provide a video poker gaming device that allows a game player to play multiple poker card hands at the same time.

These and other advantages may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification, claims, and abstract.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a gaming apparatus that includes a gaming device to allow a player to play a game and a controller in communication with the gaming device. The controller allows a player to place a first wager. The controller displays at least a portion of a first card band to the player and allows the player to play the first card hand or to place a second wager to play an additional second card hand. The second card hand is dealt identical to the first card hand. If the player chooses to place a second wager and play the second card hand, all of die first card hand and all of the second card hand are displayed to the player. The controller further allows the player to select at least one card to keep or discard from each of the first and second card hands. Replacement cards are dealt for each of the cards that were discarded. The card hand is compared to a pay table and a game outcome is determined. A prize is awarded to the player if at least one of the card hands comprises a winning combination.

In at least one alternative embodiment, the present invention is directed to a gaming method. The method includes allowing a player to place a first wager. At least a portion of a first card hand is displayed to the player. The player is allowed to play the first card hand or to place a second wager to play an additional second card hand. The second card hand is dealt identical to the first card hand. If the player chooses to place a second wager and play the second card hand, all of the first card hand and all of the second card hand are displayed to the player. The player is allowed to select at least one card to keep or discard from each of the first and second card hands. Replacement cards are dealt for each of the cards that were discarded. An award is paid for the first card hand and the second card hand according to a pay table. The card hand is compared to a pay table and a game outcome is determined. A prize is awarded to the player if at least one of the card hands comprises a winning combination.

The above description sets forth, rather broadly, the more important features of the present invention so that the detailed description of the following preferred and other embodiments may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components as set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is substantially a front elevation view of an embodiment of the gaming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is substantially a schematic diagram showing components of an embodiment of the gaming apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is substantially a front elevation view of the gaming apparatus of FIG. I showing an embodiment of a game display.

FIG. 4 is substantially a front elevation view of the gaming apparatus of FIG. I showing another embodiment of a game display.

FIG. 5 is substantially a flowchart of a gaming method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is substantially a front elevation view of the gaming apparatus of FIG. I showing an alternative embodiment of a game display.

FIG. 7 is substantially a flowchart of another gaming method of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF AT LEAST ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In the following detailed description of at least one embodiment of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

As seen in FIG. 1, the present invention comprises a gaming machine, device or apparatus, generally indicated by reference number 20. In at least one embodiment, gaming apparatus 20 may be any of a large number of devices that are adapted to allow players to play a game, such as gaming devices typically found in arcade and casino environments, including arcade games, video games, gambling machines, video poker machines, slot machines, etc. In at least one embodiment, gaming apparatus 20 is further adapted to allow a player to place a wager and play a game, such as video poker.

Gaming apparatus 20 may include a gaming device 22 and a video display 40. Gaming device 22 can have a housing 30 that includes a front panel 32, button panel 36 and panel 38. A video display 40 can be mounted to front panel 32. Video display 40 can be any of a large number of conventional display devices such as video displays including CRT, LCD and plasma video displays. Video display 40 can also be a touch video screen that is adapted to accept player input by the player touching specific areas on the video screen. Video display 40 can show a wide variety of video presentations. One such display, as shown in FIG. 1, is a video poker display 42.

In FIG. 1, video poker display 42 is shown displaying an initial or first partial poker card hand 110. First partial poker card hand 10 may include five cards, card 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D and 110E. Cards 110A, 110B, 110C and 110D can be dealt face up such that the suit and card value are visible. Card 110E can be dealt face down. Only the back 117 of card 110E is visible to a player. Back 117 may be covered with a decorative pattern or image. First partial poker card hand 110 may be dealt from a randomly shuffled virtual deck of a standard 52 card deck of playing cards. Each playing card has an associated card value 118 and suit 119.

An instruction or direction 41 may be shown on video display 40 to instruct the game player to perform an action. In FIG. 1, instruction 41 directs the player to select the number of additional poker card hands to play after viewing the first partial poker card hand 110.

Gaming device 22 may further include a device for accepting value (including currency and/or currency equivalents), such as a coin slot 55 and bill acceptor, voucher reader, or value acceptor 56. In order to accrue credits that may be used to play the gaming apparatus 20, the player inserts paper currency or other suitable script or gaming coupons into the value acceptor 56 behind which, on the interior of the gaming apparatus, is mounted a bill acceptor which takes in and validates the currency. The monetary value of the inserted currency is then applied to the credit meter 62, the credits on which the player may use to play the gaming apparatus. Credit meter 62 may be a separate meter or may be shown on video display 40 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

A payout mechanism (not shown) and a coin receptacle 57 may be provided for awarding prizes or for dispensing value to players cashing out and retiring from a game. A printer (not shown) may also be provided for printing out cashless vouchers (not shown). A pay table (not shown) may further be provided to allow a player to see what combination of cards provide a winning event or payout.

Video display 40 in addition to credit meter 62 may also include a number of hands meter 63, a bet per hand meter 64 and a win meter 65. Number of hands meter 63 may display the total number of poker hands that have been selected by the player to be played. Bet per hand meter 64 can display the amount of credits that are wagered for each hand that is played. Win meter 65 displays the number of credits won for each game round of poker hands that are played.

Gaming device 20 also may have a button panel 36 which includes selection buttons or input devices that the player may use to activate various actions during game play. Button panel 36 can include a Deal/Draw button 54 that allows the player to cause the initial deal of the poker cards to be displayed on the video display 40. Other buttons allow the player to make an initial wager, which can be made one credit at a time using the Bet One button 59 or which can be made by wagering the maximum number of credits allowed by the gaming machine using the Bet Max button 53. Multiple depressions of the Bet One button 59 may be used to select 2, 3, 4, 5 or more credits to wager on each poker hand.

Button panel 36 may further include a player input device such as a joystick 51 and keep button 52. Joystick 51 may be used to direct movement of cursor 60 on video display 40. Joystick 51 may be used by a game player to position cursor 60 over the playing cards in the poker hand that are desired to be kept. After cursor 60 is positioned over the selected playing card that is desired to be kept, the player depresses keep button 52 in order to keep the selected card. Alternatively, a discard button may be provided to discard the selected playing card in the poker hand. In another embodiment, a touch screen could be used. The poker cards that are touched by the player on the screen could be kept.

Button panel 36 may also have a keypad 58 for allowing a player to select the number of poker card hands to be played. For example, if the number 5 is depressed on keypad 58, a total of 5 poker card hands would be dealt and displayed on video display 40. The player may select to play from 1 to 99 or more poker card hands using keypad 58.

Gaming apparatus 20 may also include speakers 70 for playing music or announcements and housing lights 72 that may display various colors and light patterns. Video display 40 may enter an attract mode when gaming apparatus 20 is not being played in order to attract casino patrons to gaming apparatus 20.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a schematic diagram of some components that may be included in certain embodiments of gaming apparatus 20 are shown. Gaming apparatus 20 may include a gaming device 22 that includes a controller 100 that is in communication with gaming device 22. Gaming device 22 may include a coin slot 55 and value acceptor 56 configured to accept value from the player in the form of paper currency, coins, player cards, tickets, vouchers, tokens, or other forms of value. Coin slot 55 and value acceptor 56 may be in communication with a controller 100. Controller 100 may be any suitable controller such as a microprocessor, computer or server. Controller 100 may be located remotely from gaming apparatus 20. Controller 100 may be in communication with input devices such as Deal/Draw button 54, Bet One button 59 and Bet Max button 53. Controller 100 may detect insertion of value into coin slot 55 and value acceptor 56 and may prompt the player to start a game by activating Deal/Draw button 54. Once controller 100 senses a signal to start the game, controller 100 may be configured to randomly shuffle one or more virtual decks of a standard 52 card deck of playing cards.

Controller 100 may cause an initial first partial poker hand 110 to be dealt from the randomly shuffled virtual card deck and to be shown on video display 40. Controller 100 is in communication with joystick 51 and keep button 52. Controller 100 can detect movement of joystick 51 and correspondingly move cursor 60 (FIG. 1) to a desired position over one of the poker cards. Controller 100 can detect depression of keep button 52 and indicate that the playing card in the location of the cursor is to be kept in the poker card hand. The player may be allowed to keep all of the same cards in all of the poker hands or may be allowed to discard different cards or combinations of cards in the different hands. Keypad 58 may be in communication with controller 100. Controller 100 may detect the number of poker card hands to be played that are input on keypad 58 and display the number of poker card hands to be played on video display 40.

Video display 40 is in communication with controller 100. Credit meter 62, bet per hand meter 64, number of hands meter 63 and win meter 65 may be shown as video presentation on video display 40. Alternatively, credit meter 62, bet per hand meter 64, number of hands meter 63 and win meter 65 may be separate meters that are each in communication with controller 100. Controller 100 can also be in communication with a memory 96 and a player tracking database 98. Memory 96 may comprise a random access memory or a disc drive and may store information generated during game play of gaining apparatus 20. Player tracking database 98 may store historical information about players and their playing habits using player tracking cards as is well known in the industry for awarding additional compensation based on player playing times and amounts wagered.

When a game player initially begins playing gaming apparatus 20, they may identify themselves by using a player tracking card.

Gaming apparatus 20 could also be implemented in a physical mechanical form. Gaming apparatus 20 is not limited to card games but could be based on other games such as dominoes, roulette, craps, baccarat, and other games.

Gaming apparatus 20 may further include a speaker 70 and housing lights 72. Controller 100 may cause speaker 70 and housing lights 72 to create a festive and lively winning atmosphere to elicit interest and entertainment from both the player and adjacent patrons.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the operation of gaming apparatus 20 will be explained. Initially, a game player makes a deposit into coin slot 55 or value acceptor 56. The credit meter 62 displays the total number of credits. Next, the game player selects the number of credits that are to be wagered on each poker hand using either Bet One button 59 or Bet Max button 53. The number of credits wagered on each hand is displayed on bet per hand meter 64. In FIG. 1, the player has deposited 215 credits into gaming apparatus 20 and is wagering 10 credits for each poker card hand that is played.

Next, the game player would depress Deal/Draw button 54 to begin the game. Controller 100 randomly shuffles a first virtual deck of a standard 52 card deck of playing cards. Controller 100 also arranges a multiple of additional card decks including second, third, fourth, fifth and up to N decks as needed in the same card order as the first virtual deck.

Controller 100 deals a first partial poker hand 110 and causes video display 40 to show the first partial poker card hand 110 that includes five cards, cards 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D and 110E. Cards 110A, 110B, 110C and 110D can be dealt face up such that the suit and card value are visible. Card 110E can be dealt face down. First partial poker card hand 110 may be dealt from the top of the first virtual deck that is created and kept track of by controller 100. Poker card hand 110 could also be dealt from the bottom of the first virtual deck. Gaming apparatus 20 may also display other types of card games or poker card games that use 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8, 9, 10 or more cards.

Only a portion of the first poker card hand is shown. One of the cards in the first poker hand is hidden or not shown. If desired more than one card of the initial poker card hand display may be hidden.

Some types of poker games normally allow the player to see all of the cards that make up the poker hand immediately after being dealt. For example in five card stud poker, the player is normally immediately allowed to view all of the cards in the hand after the cards are dealt. It may be necessary to temporarily hide one or more cards in the poker card hand in order to preserve the desired statistical outcome of the game. For example, if all of the cards of the first poker card hand were shown, then the player most likely would only place an additional wager when the playing cards displayed are a winning hand and would not place additional wagers when non-winning hands are shown.

In one embodiment of the present invention a dynamic pay table is used when the player's initial hand is a prize winning hand. For example, if the player's initial hand is a winning hand and the player elects to place an additional wager to receive an additional hand, then the pay table may change so that the player must obtain hands with lower likelihoods of occurence in order to qualify for a prize. In other words, the pay table changes in a predetermined manor so that the probability of winning a prize for the second hand is lower than for the first hand.

In another embodiment, a first pay table is used for the initial hand and, if the initial hand is a winning hand, a second pay table is used for the second hand. The probability of winning a prize in the second pay table is lower than the probability of winning a prize in the first pay table.

In another embodiment, one or more cards are not revealed to the player in the initial hand. If the initial hand is a non-winning hand, then a randomly determined card would not be revealed to the player. If the initial hand is a winning hand, then enough of the hand is not revealed to prevent the player from seeing that the hand is s winning hand. In this way, the player must decide to play additional hands without knowing if the initial hand is a winning hand.

In another embodiment, the player must receive a non-winning hand in order to be eligible for additional hands.

The gaming device of the present invention may initially display less than all of the cards that make up the poker hand. For example, only two or three cards of a five card poker hand may be displayed. The number of hidden cards may depend on the pay table that is used.

Next, controller 100 may direct video display 40 to display instruction or direction 41 the instructs the game player to perform an action. In FIG. 1, instruction 41 directs the player to select the number of poker hands to play after viewing the first partial poker card hand 110. The player would then enter the number of poker card hands to be played using keypad 58. Keypad 58 allows a player the option to play additional poker hands. Keypad 58 can be used to enter the total number of poker hands to be played or may be used to enter the number of additional poker hands to be played.

Turning now to FIG. 3, gaming apparatus 20 is shown after the player has entered the number of poker card hands to be played on keypad 58. In FIG. 3, the player has entered a total of three poker card hands to be played. Three hands are shown on number of hands meter 63. Controller 100 may then direct video display 40 to reveal card 110E. Controller 100 has also dealt second poker card hand 120 from the second virtual card deck and third poker card hand 130 from the third virtual card deck. Second poker card hand 120 can include cards 120A, 120B, 120C, 120D and 120E. Third poker card hand 130 can include cards 130A, 130B, 130C, 130D and 130E. It is noted that the card value 118 and suit 119 that are dealt for second and third poker card hands 120 and 130 are shown as being identical to or replicated from the card values 118 and suit 119 that were dealt for first poker card hand 110. Because the second and third virtual card decks are in the same card order as the first virtual card deck, the second poker card hand 120 and third poker card hand 130 are dealt identical to the first poker card hand 110.

In an alternative embodiment, the card value 118 and suit 119 that are dealt for second and third poker card hands 120 and 130 may be different than the card values 118 and suit 119 that were dealt for first poker card hand 110. In this embodiment, the second and third virtual card decks and any additional card decks are randomly shuffled prior to being dealt. Second and third poker card hands 120 and 130 may be dealt from these randomly shuffled decks by controller 100.

Poker cards hands 110, 120 and 130 can form a matrix of cards 105 that include rows 106 and columns 107.

The player may then select which cards from each of poker card hands 110, 120 and 130 to keep using joystick 51 and keep button 52. Controller 100 then deals replacement cards to the card positions that were selected to be discarded.

In FIG. 3, the player has selected cards 110A, 110B and 110E to keep in first poker card hand 110. Cards 120A, 120B and 120E have been kept in second poker card hand 120. Cards 130A, 130B and 130E have been kept in third poker card hand 130.

With reference now to FIG. 4, after the player has selected the cards to keep, the player may depress Deal/Draw button 54. Depression of Deal/Draw button 54 causes controller 100 to deal replacement cards to each of the card positions that were not indicated as being kept. In FIG. 4, replacement cards have been dealt for cards 110C, 110D, 120C, 120D, 130C and 130D. In this example, because the first, second and third virtual decks are in the same order and are being dealt from the top of each respective deck, the resulting replacement cards are identical for each of poker card hands 110, 120 and 130.

First poker card hand 110, second poker card hand 120 and third poker card hand 130 each have three cards with a card value of “6”. This combination is three of a kind and is a winning combination and has a payout of three credits (see Table 1) for each credit that was wagered. Win meter 65 indicates that 90 credits have been won in the current game round. The 90 credits are then added to the player's credit meter 62. If the result of the game was that there was no winning combination, the number of credits indicated on bet per hand meter 64 is multiplied by the number of hands played as indicated on number of hands meter 63 and the total is deducted from the players credit meter 62.

Controller 100 performs a routine to determine the cards that are dealt in the initial and subsequent poker card hands that will be displayed. This may be performed by a number of methods that are well known in the art. The first virtual deck may be virtually shuffled by controller 100 and the subsequent virtual decks arranged in the same card order. Controller 100 may generate a random number and then compare the random number to a distribution table for all 52 cards in the virtual deck in order to randomly shuffle the first virtual deck.

After each poker hand has been completed, the resulting poker hand combination can be evaluated by controller 100 and designated a winning or losing poker hand combination. The amount won by the player having a winning poker hand combination is determined according to a pay table based on the poker hand combination that is achieved by the player and the amount wagered by the player.

Poker hand pay tables are determined based on the mathematical probability of certain poker combinations occurring during the play of the game and based on the percentage of wagers that the casino desires to keep as a profit. Any suitable poker hand pay table may be used. A simple poker hand pay table for gaming apparatus 20 may appear as follows:

TABLE 1 Payout Poker Hand Combination Odds for Each Credit Wagered Less than Pair of Jacks Losing Hand Pair of Jacks and Higher 1 Two Pair 2 Three of a Kind 3 Straight 10 Flush 20 Full House 30 Four of a Kind 100 Straight Flush 1000 Royal Flush 5000

For example, if the poker hand combination was a straight (five cards in sequence), controller 100 would award 10 credits for every credit that was wagered. If 2 credits were wagered, 20 credits would be awarded to the player. This embodiment is not necessarily limited to the example pay table shown. Different kinds of prizes, besides monetary prizes, may also be awarded. For example, the prizes may be goods, services, or additional games. The goods and services may be awarded in the form of physical objects, tickets, vouchers, coupons, etc.

The cards contained in poker card hands 110, 120 and 130 may be dealt from a variety of types and sizes of virtual or electronic cards decks. In one embodiment, each poker card hand is assigned to a separate virtual deck of 52 cards. The virtual deck may be virtually shuffled by controller 100. The cards may be randomly drawn from the decks. When replacement cards are drawn, the same replacement cards may be dealt to each of the poker card hands.

In another embodiment, each of the virtual decks is in the same card order so that the same replacement cards are dealt to each of the poker card hands. In an additional embodiment, each of the virtual decks may be in a different order or randomly shuffled so that the different replacement cards are dealt to each of the poker card hands. In yet another embodiment, a single virtual deck of 52 cards could be used for all of the poker card hands that are played.

Game Method

Referring now to FIG. 5, a gaming method 200 using gaming apparatus 20 in accordance with the present invention is shown. Method 200 is illustrated using the example of gaming apparatus 20 shown in FIGS. 1-4. At step 202, controller 100 (FIG. 2) may present the game to a game player by generating a display on video display 40 (FIG. 1) to prompt the game player to make a wager at step 202. At decision step 204, controller 100 determines if a wager has been placed. If a wager has not been placed, method 200 returns to step 202 and waits for a wager to be placed. If a wager is entered at step 204, method 200 proceeds to step 206.

Controller 100 randomly shuffles and creates or orders the first virtual card deck at step 206. Also at step 206, controller 100 creates multiple additional virtual card decks that are in the same card order as the first virtual card deck. At step 208, controller 100 deals the initial or first partial poker card hand 110 from the first virtual deck and displays the first partial poker card hand 110 on video display 40. At this point, the player may view four of the poker cards of the first poker card hand. The fifth poker card is hidden.

At step 210, the player decides if they will play multiple or additional poker cards hands. If the player does not wish to play additional poker card hands, the player may depress Deal/Draw button 54 causing method 200 to proceed to step 216. If the player does want to play additional poker card hands, the player may use keypad 58 to enter the number of additional poker card hands that they desire to play. Instruction 41 (FIG. 1) may prompt the player to perform an action or make a decision at step 210.

Next, at step 212, the player uses keypad 58 to enter the number of additional poker card hands that they desire to play. At step 214, the additional poker cards hands that were selected by the player to be played are dealt from the additional virtual card decks and displayed to the player on video display 40. The cards that are dealt to the additional poker card hands may be the same cards and in the same order as the first poker card hand. In addition, the fifth card that was hidden from first partial poker card hand 110 is now shown to the player.

At step 216 of method 200, the player can select which cards to keep and which cards to discard that are replaced with newly drawn cards using joystick 51 and keep button 52 (FIG. 1). After the player has indicated which cards to keep, method 200 checks to see if the deal/draw button 54 has been depressed by the player at step 218.

If the Deal/Draw button 54 has not been depressed, method 200 returns to step 216 where the player is allowed to continue selecting cards in the poker hands to keep. If the Deal/Draw button 54 has been depressed, method 200 proceeds to step 220 where controller 100 draws replacement poker cards from each of the respective virtual card decks that are associated with each of the poker hands to replace the cards that were not indicated as being kept by the player. The card combination of each hand is evaluated by controller 100 with tie pay table and any credits won or prizes are displayed on win meter 65 (FIG. 1) and awarded to the game player at step 222.

It is noted that the flowchart in FIG. 5 shows only one possible embodiment. Some of the steps in the flowchart may be varied, changed in order, or eliminated and still fall within the scope of the present invention. Various additions, subtractions, and permutations of the steps in the above described method can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Alternative Embodiment

Turning now to FIG. 6, an alternative embodiment of a gaming apparatus 300 is shown. Gaming apparatus 300 is similar to gaming apparatus 200 except that several multiple poker card hands are dealt from the beginning of each game round. Gaming apparatus 300 has a gaming device 322 and a video display 40.

Initially, a game player makes a deposit into coin slot 55 or value acceptor 56. The credit meter 62 displays the total number of credits. Next, the game player selects the number of credits that are to be wagered on each poker hand using either Bet One button 59 or Bet Max button 53. The number of credits wagered on each hand is displayed on bet per hand meter 64. In FIG. 6, the player has deposited 215 credits into gaming apparatus 20 and is wagering 10 credits for each poker card hand that is played.

Next, the game player would depress Deal/Draw button 54 to begin the game. Controller 100 randomly shuffles or orders several virtual card decks of 52 standard playing cards. Controller 100 causes video display 40 to deal cards from the top of each virtual deck and show several complete poker card hands. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten or more hands may be dealt and displayed on video display 40. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, three poker card hands are dealt. In another embodiment, the number of poker card hands may be randomly selected by controller 100.

Poker card hand 10 can include five cards, cards 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D and 110E. Poker card hand 110 is dealt from the top of a randomly shuffled first virtual card deck. Second poker card hand 120 can include cards 120A, 120B, 120C, 120D and 120E. Poker card hand 120 is dealt from the top of a randomly shuffled second virtual card deck. Third poker card hand 130 can include cards 130A, 130B, 130C, 130D and 130E. Poker card hand 130 is dealt from the top of a randomly shuffled third virtual card deck. All of the cards can be dealt face up such that the suit and card value are visible. It is noted that each of the poker card hands in FIG. 6 are different.

The player may then select which cards from each of poker card hands 110, 120 and 130 to keep using joystick 51 and keep button 52. After the player has selected the cards to keep, the player may depress Deal/Draw button 54. Depression of Deal/Draw button 54 causes controller 100 to deal replacement cards to each of the card positions that were not indicated as being kept. The replacement cards are dealt from the top of each of the respective virtual card decks to each respective poker card hand.

The card combination of each of poker card hands 110, 120 and 130 is evaluated by controller 100 with the pay table and any credits won or prizes are displayed on win meter 65 and awarded to the game player.

Gaining apparatus 300 allows a game player to play multiple poker card hands at the same time. The multiple poker card hands are completely dealt at the beginning of the game without the player specifying the number of hands to be played.

Alternative Embodiment Game Method

Referring now to FIG. 7, a gaming method 400 using gaming apparatus 300 in accordance with the present invention is shown. Method 400 is illustrated using the example of gaming apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 6. At step 402, controller 100 (FIG. 2) may present the game to a game player by generating a display on video display 40 (FIG. 6) to prompt the game player to make a wager at step 404. At decision step 404, controller 100 determines if a wager has been placed. If a wager has not been placed, method 400 returns to step 402 and waits for a wager to be placed. If a wager is entered at step 404, method 400 proceeds to step 406.

Controller 100 randomly shuffles or orders a plurality of virtual decks of 52 standard playing cards at step 406. At step 408, controller 100 deals from the top of each of the virtual decks and displays the multiple poker card hands 110, 120 and 130 on video display 40. All of the cards are visible.

At step 416, the player can select which cards to keep and which cards to discard that are replaced with newly drawn cards using joystick 51 and keep button 52 (FIG. 6). After the player has indicated which cards to keep, method 400 checks to see if the Deal/Draw button 54 has been depressed by the player at step 418.

If the Deal/Draw button 54 has not been depressed, method 400 returns to step 416 where the player is allowed to continue selecting cards in the poker hands to keep. If the Deal/Draw button 54 has been depressed, method 400 proceeds to step 420 where controller 100 draws replacement poker cards from the top of each of the respective virtual card decks to replace the cards that were not indicated as being kept by the player. The card combination of each hand is evaluated by controller 100 with the pay table and any credits won or prizes are displayed on win meter 65 (FIG. 6) and awarded to the game player at step 422.

It is noted that the flowchart in FIG. 7 shows only one possible embodiment. Some of the steps in the flowchart may be varied, changed in order, or eliminated and still fall within the scope of the present invention. Various additions, subtractions, and permutations of the steps in the above described method can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Conclusion

Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given. 

1. A gaming apparatus comprising: (A) a display device configured to communicate game information to a player; (B) a controller in communication with the display device, the controller being configured to: (a) allow a player to place a first wager; (b) display at least a portion of a first card hand to the player; (c) allow the player to choose to play the first card hand or to place a second wager to play an additional second card hand, the second card hand being dealt identical to the first card hand; (d) if the player chooses to place a second wager and play the additional second card hand, displaying all of the first card hand and all of the second card hand to the player; (e) allow the player to select at least one card to keep or discard from each of the first and second card hands; (f) deal replacement cards for each of the cards that were discarded; (g) compare the card hands to a pay table and determine a game outcome; and (h) award a prize to the player if at least one of the card hands comprises a winning combination.
 2. The gaming apparatus of claim 1, further comprising allowing the player to place a plurality of wagers to play a plurality of additional card hands, the plurality of additional card hands being dealt identical to the first card hand.
 3. The gaming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first card hand is dealt replacement cards from a first virtual card deck and the second card hand is dealt replacement cards from a second virtual card deck.
 4. The gaming apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first and second card decks are in the same card order.
 5. The gaming apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first and second virtual card decks are in a different card order.
 6. The gaming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second card hands are dealt replacement cards from a common virtual card deck.
 7. A gaming method comprising, not all of the steps necessarily in the order shown: (A) allowing a player to place a first wager; (B) displaying at least a portion of a first card hand to the player; (C) allowing the player to choose to play the first card hand or to place a second wager to play an additional second card hand, the second card hand being dealt identical to the first card hand; (D) if the player chooses to place a second wager and play the additional second card hand, displaying all of the first card hand and all of the second card hand to the player; (E) allowing the player to select at least one card to keep or discard from each of the first and second card hands; (F) dealing replacement cards for each of the cards that were discarded; (G) comparing the card hands to a pay table and determining a game outcome; and (H) awarding a prize to the player, if at least one of the card hands comprises a winning combination.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising allowing the player to place a plurality of wagers to play a plurality of additional card hands, the plurality of additional card hands being dealt identical to the first card hand.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein each card hand is assigned to a separate virtual card deck.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein each card hand is assigned to a separate virtual card deck and each of the virtual card decks are in the same card order.
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein each card hand is assigned to a separate virtual card deck and each of the card decks are in a different card order.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein each card hand is dealt replacement cards from a common virtual card deck.
 13. A method comprising, not all necessarily in the order shown: (a) step for displaying at least a portion of a first card hand to the player; (b) step for allowing the player to choose to play the first card hand or to place an additional second wager to play a second card hand; (c) if the player chooses to place the additional second wager, dealing the second card hand, the second card hand being identical to the first card hand; (d) step for displaying all of the first card hand and all of the second card hand to the player; (e) step for allowing the player to select at least one card to keep or discard from each of the first and second card hands; (f) step for dealing replacement cards for each of the cards that were discarded; (g) step for comparing the card hands to a pay table and determining a game outcome; and (h) step for awarding a prize to the player, if at least one of the card hands comprises a winning combination.
 14. The gaming apparatus of claim 13, further comprising allowing the player to place a plurality of additional wagers to play a plurality of additional card hands.
 15. The gaming apparatus of claim 13, wherein each of the card hands are dealt replacement cards from a different virtual card deck.
 16. A gaming method comprising: (A) allowing a player to place a first wager; (B) displaying at least a portion of a first card hand to the player; (C) allowing the player to play the first card hand or to place a plurality of additional wagers to play a plurality of additional card hands, each of the additional card hands requiring an additional wager to be placed, the additional card hands being dealt different than the first card hand; (D) if the player chooses to place the additional wager and play the additional second card hand, displaying all of the first card hand and all of the additional card hands to the player; (E) allowing the player to select at least one card to keep or discard from each of the first and the additional card hands; (F) dealing replacement cards for each of the cards that were discarded; (G) comparing the card hands to a pay table and determining a game outcome; and (H) awarding a prize to the player, if at least one of the card hands comprises a winning combination.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein one card in each card hand is initially hidden.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein two cards in each card hand are initially hidden. 